Category Devotionals

The Traps of the Wicked

Todd R 2 Comments

The world is, unfortunately, full of people who seek to get other people in trouble, and this has been true for millennia.  Far back in Old Testament history, King David wrote in Psalm 140:4-5:

“Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
            preserve me from violent men,
            who have planned to trip up my feet.
The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
            and with cords they have spread a net;
            beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah”

When David wrote this, he was probably describing immediate, physical threats against him, but when I read verse 5 it sounds like many obstacles Christians currently face.  Every day, we encounter traps put in front of us, and David’s Psalm has many applications.

What about irresponsible news coverage, which too often includes inappropriate opinions and suggestions about how we should think or act?  We could pray, “Guard me, O LORD, against putting my faith in falsehoods.”  Or “Guard me, O LORD, against temptation to hate my enemy.”  Or “Guard me, O LORD, from putting aside the work you have for me to do to fight battles that aren’t mine.”

Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay

Also, the internet is a dangerous place.  Many websites use sexual images to get our attention, and in some cases if we even stop for a second to stop scrolling and look, those websites take that as interest and show us more of the same.  We could pray “Guard me, O LORD, when websites ‘have hidden a trap for me, and with cords they have spread a net’”. Other websites use misleading and provocative headlines to pull us away from what we intended to look at.  “Guard me, O LORD, against click bait that leads me where I should not go, and that makes me spend my time unwisely.”

Back to the Psalm, note that in verse 5 David describes threats as being “beside the way,” meaning they are off the main path we should travel.  The traps may be hidden off the side of the road with bait trying to lure us aside to an ambush.  Therefore, the key is to stay on the road.  Proverbs 1:17 says “For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird.”  Even birds, if they see a trap, will know to avoid it.  Yet people don’t seem to be as wise, or else they wouldn’t fall for click bait and other temptations.

One of the best ways to stay away from those who “have planned to trip up my feet” is to stay busy doing good things.  Samuel Johnson wrote: “If you are idle, be not solitary; if you are solitary, be not idle.”  He knew temptation is most powerful when we are alone with nothing to do, which applies to much of our time online.  I try to use writing as a way to stay busy when solitary, but that doesn’t always work for me and might not work at all for others.

Staying on the right path, we avoid snares and traps, which are near, but not on, the true way.  Once we allow temptation to move us a little, we often find it has moved us a lot, and into a trap.

What can we all do to avoid the traps of the wicked?

“Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
            preserve me from violent men,
            who have planned to trip up my feet.”

“The LORD will Provide”

Todd R Leave a comment

Many times, in the Old Testament, places were named or re-named to remind people of something significant that happened there.  One of these times happened in Genesis 22:14, which says: “So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.””  Those who know their Bible well and who have walked along with the Lord know that God provides in many places and at many times, but only one place was given this name.  What did God provide to Abraham and why was it so meaningful that a place needed to be named for it?

Back in Genesis 22:1, we are told that “God tested Abraham” by telling him to go and sacrifice his only son Isaac on Mount Moriah.  This is startling is so many ways, not least because human sacrifice is involved.  Although some cultures in Old Testament times practiced human sacrifice, in modern times it’s probably universally condemned.[1]  To Abraham however, it would also be startling because Isaac was his only son, and God had promised Abraham that “I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven.”[2]  If Abraham killed his only son, who was born in Abraham’s old age from the previously barren womb of his wife Sarah by the promise of God, how would Abraham have so many descendants that he couldn’t count them?

While this didn’t make much sense, Abraham trusted God anyway and decided to follow His command.  Hebrews 11:19 tells us that Abraham believed God could raise Isaac from the dead if He so chose.  However we got there, God was going to keep His promise.  Abraham was able to keep this faith even though the trip to Moriah took more than 3 days.[3]  His faith in following through on this seemingly barbaric command was tested by time, but Abraham kept walking in faith.

Which brings us back to the place name “The LORD will provide.”  After Abraham had bound his son Isaac, laid him on the wood and prepared to offer him as a burnt offering, God called out to him, saying “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”[4]  Abraham then saw a ram caught in the bushes nearby, a perfect substitute for Isaac as a burnt offering!  Isaac was set free and the ram was sacrificed.  Dilemma resolved.  Then the place was named, but also, we read “as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.””

When the Bible says “as it is said to this day” it usually means until the day the passage was written down.  So, the saying “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided” lasted until Moses wrote the book of Genesis.  But when and why did the phrase fall out of practice?  When reading this story, I thought this saying needs to be revived!  God still provides for us in amazing ways, but maybe not on Mount Moriah.

Does He provide for us whenever we want Him to?  Warren Wiersbe answers this question as; He provides for us “in the place of His assignment. Abraham was at the right place, so God could meet his needs. We have no right to expect the provision of God if we are not in the will of God.”

Abraham, in faith, knew that God would provide a solution to a seemingly offensive and impossible situation, and so He did.  But in our case, there are at least two ways we can fall short of obtaining God’s provision: one, we fail to follow His command because it doesn’t make sense to us, and two, we can expect Him to provide what we need for us even though we aren’t doing what He wants us to do.

What if God is asking us to do something that seems unwise financially, socially, or otherwise?  Maybe it doesn’t even make sense theologically, as it may not have to Abraham?  God wants to provide for us a way through that, a way to reward our faith and glorify Himself for our good.  But, if we aren’t willing to follow Him in that instance, we miss out on the blessing.

What if we feel like we’re missing out on some blessing and we don’t know why?  Maybe we don’t feel close to God, we don’t feel like He answers our prayers, we don’t feel like He loves us?[5]  It may be that He is asking us to do something and we aren’t following through.  We expect the blessings to flow at no cost to us.

If Abraham had not followed God’s command, he would have not been able to experience the amazing provision from God that led him to name the place “The LORD will provide.””  And sometimes if we aren’t walking with God in faith (or maybe not even spending enough time with God to know what He wants), we will never learn how He can provide.

What might God be asking you to do today?  Have you asked Him?  Follow Him and He will prove Himself faithful.  He will be glorified and it will be for your good.

Amen.

[1] I’m not aware of any place that still practices it, but I’m not an expert.
[2] Genesis 26:4
[3] Genesis 22:4
[4] Genesis 22:12
[5] I don’t mean to minimize the fact that some people just won’t feel good for medical reasons, such as clinical anxiety or depression.  Sometimes there are other factors at play that need to overcome in other ways.

The Cross and Power

Todd R 1 Comment

“And being found in human form, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” – Philippians 2:8

Here Jesus endured the powerlessness that many feel. At any moment, Jesus could have chosen to free Himself from the cross, but He actively maintained His powerlessness for hours through the torture for our benefit. Any time we think power is the answer, we must consider this.

Photo by Wim van ‘t Einde on Unsplash

The Difference Between Grace and Mercy

Todd R 1 Comment

The words “grace” and “mercy” are often used interchangeably, as if they mean the exact same thing.  But what if they’re both used in the same sentence?  For example, the apostle Paul almost always opens his letters to the churches with some version of the phrase “grace and peace,” but in 1 Timothy 1:2 he added “mercy”, writing:

“To Timothy, my true child in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”

If grace and mercy were the same thing, it would be redundant for Paul to use both words, so they must have different meanings.  Paul uses these two words again later in the chapter, in 1 Timothy 1:13b-14, verses that give a clue to the different meanings:

“But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”

Paul had been writing about how before Christ found him, he was a zealous persecutor of Christians, dragging them to prison and also supervising the stoning of Stephen, one of the church’s first deacons, then “But I received mercy…”.  Paul deserved to be punished for his hate of and actions against Christ’s people, but instead received mercy.

Then he writes that “the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”  Here, Paul is receiving something from God – faith and love.  Did Paul deserve these things?  No, but he got them anyway.

Perhaps mercy is when you don’t get a bad thing that you do deserve, and grace is when you do get a good thing that you don’t deserve.  In Christ, we get both grace and mercy.  Paul’s words in 1 Timothy match this description.  By mercy, Paul didn’t get the punishment he deserved for his sins, and by grace Paul did get the faith and love he didn’t deserve.

Therefore, Paul, along with all of us, have 3 things to be thankful for: God’s mercy, and the faith and love that we get by God’s grace.  None of us deserve the “faith and love” God gives us (or it would not be grace), but when we are saved, we all receive these same gifts.  And we get them in place of what we actually deserve.

So, consider what we have received by grace.  Even our faith is a gracious gift – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).  This faith we receive is enough to save us and reconnect us to God but is not yet a perfect faith that enables us to fully trust God with all of our life decisions.  We receive a love that is part of God’s character and is what we are to give to all people, but not enough for us to love perfectly.  However, when we are reborn in the new heaven and new earth, we will have perfect faith and love.  What a world that will be!

Knowing the difference between grace and mercy gives us more to be thankful to God for, so thank God for both His grace and mercy, and the faith and love that come with them!

Daily Readings for July 20 – 26

Todd R Leave a comment

Fellow travelers:

For those looking for a Bible reading plan, each week I post 2 chapters to read per day as a main reading plan, and for anyone who wants to read the whole Bible in 2026, I’ll post the extra chapters to read that week.  The main readings will include nearly all of the New Testament, plus Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Prophets, and a few other Old Testament books.

Reading 3 chapters a day on weekdays and 4 on weekends almost exactly covers the 1,189 chapters of the Bible, so the “extra” readings will be about 9 chapters per week.  These readings will cover the Pentateuch, the OT histories, a few other OT books, plus Jude and Revelation from the NT.

Regardless, I hope this schedule encourages others to read and study their Bible more, whatever parts they decide to read.  Follow along (or not) any way you choose!

2 chapter a day plan:

Monday, July 20: Hosea 9 – 10
Tuesday, July 21: Hosea 11 – 12
Wednesday, July 22: Hosea 13 – 14
Thursday, July 23: 1 Corinthians 1 – 2
Friday, July 24: 1 Corinthians 3 – 4
Saturday, July 25: 1 Corinthians 5 – 6
Sunday, July 26: 1 Corinthians 7 – 8

Extra chapters for those reading the whole Bible in 2026:
1 Samuel 27 – 31; 2 Samuel 1 – 4